Full Swing unveils gaming platform as golf simulation participation increases

Full swingthe PGA Tour’s officially licensed golf simulator, has launched a unique skill-based gaming platform: Skill attack that delivers closest-to-the-pin competitions – and a chance to win real money – for golf simulator play.

However, instead of competing with other golfers, the new feature, which can be used at home or commercial simulator locations, allows participants to pay an entry fee, take a shot and potentially win money by outperforming their players. expected shot making skills. Essentially, players compete against themselves and their algorithm-derived expected shot outcome, leveling the playing field between scratch players and less experienced golfers.

“Skill Strike is an unprecedented shift in skill-based gaming,” said Jason Fierro, Chief Operating Officer of Full Swing. “It essentially creates a real-time dynamic handicap for golfers of all levels and allows them to win money as long as they perform above their personal expected result.”

The Skill Strike platform is powered by Evenplay’s proprietary AI technology that analyzes real-time tracking data from Full Swing simulators and uses machine learning to tailor each challenge to an individual’s skill level.

Target sizes and distances (yardages) are automatically adjusted on each attempt, with differentiated payouts depending on how close a given shot lands to the hole. Players can win up to eight times their entry fee, ranging from $3 to $20. Separate prizes are also available for holes-in-one.

As for potential “sandbagging” in the world of indoor golf simulators, the technology looks at key swing indicators and can recognize if a user has changed dramatically from shot to shot. In terms of establishing a baseline for performance, the AI ​​can detect if swing mechanics differ from shot to shot and adjust targets for subsequent shots at an accelerated pace.

“We built our AI specifically to solve a problem that has plagued golf gaming forever: how do you make it fair and fun for everyone?” said Bryan O’Reilly, co-founder and CEO of Evenplay, whose Las Vegas-based company is pioneering AI skill-based gaming. “Full Swing’s precise tracking data gives us the perfect foundation to create truly personalized challenges.”

The growing market for golf simulators

The rollout of Full Swing’s gamified technology comes at a time when the golf simulator market continues to grow rapidly.

According to the National Golf Foundation, more than 8.1 million Americans used golf simulators in 2024, a 31% increase from the previous year. Commercial simulator locations – including both national chains and independent operators – have also exploded in number, with at least 1,500 locations now active nationally, almost three times as many as in 2022.

Full Swing, which is recognized by the NGF as one of the golf industry’s top 100 companies and is an official technology partner of the TGL indoor league, has simulators in approximately 3,000 bays at commercial locations.

“Over the past few weeks, we have given several Full Swing commercial partners a preview of the technology,” said Fierro. “All are impressed with the seamless integration of Skill Strike into the simulator gameplay experience and believe it will create a significant new revenue stream for their business as it increases the frequency of customer visits as well as the time they spend on site.”

Fierro added that additional integrations are on the way, including the ability to play against friends during simulator rounds and overlapping closest-to-the-pin challenges on famous par 3 holes from around the world.